Mahanama's words pack a punch like his willow

By S. Dinakar

CHENNAI, OCT. 12. With the willow the lithe Lankan could dismiss the ball into the open spaces, bringing into view all the oriental magic. And on the field he often displayed lightning reflexes...moving like a panther.

Wristy, elegant, graceful and quick, Roshan Mahanama was all that and more.

Now the 35-year-old Sri Lankan is in a new role. As the coach of the Colombo District Cricket Association team, a young bunch that will take on Tamil Nadu in the Gopalan Trophy and the F. C. de Saram one-dayers.

``It's a challenge. In life you have to accept challenges. Cricket is in my blood. I still have something to give back to the game,'' said Mahanama in an exclusive interview to The Hindu, following the side's arrival here from Colombo on Friday.

Mahanama admits to being disappointed after being eased out of the Lankan side a couple of years ago, forcing him to call it a day. ``I was only 33 then, still fit, and I thought I had a couple of more years left in me. All good things have to end one day. I am sad it happened that way.''

But, he has gradually overcome that setback and that is good news for Lankan cricket. ``The Gopalan Trophy is a wonderful opportunity for the youngsters. I remember I played the Gopalan Trophy match in the early 80's, after which it was discontinued, till 2000. I was very young then and it was a big break for me.''

Apart from all the runs he has made in both forms of the game and the splendid catches he has taken in the heat of the battle, Mahanama remembers his on-field behaviour, something the youngsters could emulate. ``In 20 years of playing the game right from the school days, I was never ever fined or reprimanded. It is a gentleman's game. It should be kept that way.''

Precisely why some of the incidents during Australia's 1995-96 tour of Australia bothered him. And he did bring some of the unsavoury happenings to light in his much talked-about autobiography Retired Hurt.

``I didn't write the book for this purpose alone. In fact, a couple of lines have been taken out of context. There is a lot we can learn from the Aussies. They are the world beaters in both forms of the game. I have myself picked up quite a few things from them. Yet, there were some instances in that tour that could have triggered racism in cricket. And I felt that could have been avoided,'' observed Mahanama.

One of the incidents was when Glenn McGrath abused Sanath Jayasuriya verbally, and Mahanama makes it clear in the book that the Aussie paceman's words had racial overtones.

However, the demanding tour steeled the Lankans, put them on the path to glory, a triumphant march that culminated with the World Cup triumph in Lahore '96. ``The sequence of events that happened made the side believe in itself, brought it together as one unit. I have focussed on this aspect in my book. It is also about my life as a cricketer. I had gone through the ups and the downs and I had a story to tell.''

The World Cup victory, not surprisingly is the highlight of his 13-year international career that began in '86. ``It's a team game. And that was the finest team achievement. I carry with me all those good memories now.''

On a personal front, the 576-run second-wicket partnership with Sanath Jayasuriya, a world record stand for any wicket, in the Premadasa Stadium Test of 1997, that drove the Indian bowlers to despair, occupies the pride of place.

Mahanama himself made 225, and there is an unmistakable sparkle in his eyes as he recalls that effort. ``That was memorable. It put us in the company of some of the greatest names in cricket.''

In fact, Mahanama is proud of the fact that he has seen both phases of Lankan cricket. ``We were nobodies once and then we became world beaters. I think I learnt a lot from that. Knew how to deal with success and failures. This will help me as a coach too.''

Being someone who always played the game in the right spirit, the match-fixing scandal, which did not spare Lankan cricket either, has left him a sad man. ``You can fool everyone, but you can't fool your own conscience,'' are his stinging words.

Both with his willow and his words, Roshan Mahanama does pack a punch.

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